The National Museum of Women in the Arts is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists.

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5 Fast Facts: Camille Claudel

Impress your friends with five fast facts about artist Camille Claudel (1864–1943), whose work is part of NMWA’s collection.

1. Barring the Opportunity

The talented French sculptor received training at Paris’s progressive Académie Colarossi, in part because the preeminent Ecole des Beaux-Arts barred women from attending until 1897. Other NMWA artists, including Lilla Cabot Perry (1848–1933) and Ellen Day Hale (1855–1940), also attended Académie Colarossi.

2. A Museum of One’s Own

Claudel’s artwork is often regarded in the shadow of the sculpture of Auguste Rodin—the well-known artist with whom she had both a professional and romantic relationship. In 2017, nearly 75 years after her death, the Musée Camille Claudel opened in France, recognizing her important artistic contributions. This treasure trove features approximately half of Claudel’s extant works.

Claudel modeled the hands and feet of the figures in Rodin’s Burghers of Calais (1884–9). One of the twelve casts of this sculpture can be seen at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Check out the expressive extremities of the six men who sacrificed themselves to save their town.

4. It’s Complicated

Claudel isn’t the only artist to have a tumultuous affair with a male peer. Curious about complicated art-world relationships? Read about the blue ride of Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) with Wassily Kandinsky, the on-again off-again matrimonio of Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) and Diego Rivera, and the messy marriage of Lee Krasner (1908–1984) and Jackson Pollock.

5. The Price is Right

During a 2017 auction, 20 works by Claudel—including sculptures made of bronze, terra-cotta, plaster, and clay—sold for a record-shattering $4.1 million, more than three times the high estimate.

—Adrienne L. Gayoso is the senior educator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.